Cong's vote-bank politics behind NE strife: BJP

BJP leader Arun Jaitley said that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are responsible for creating tension in the country.

Indore: Blaming the Centre for the violence in Assam and the subsequent exodus of Northeast Indians from various parts of the country to their home states, the BJP on Sunday said the "vote-bank" politics of Congress was "weakening" the country.

"Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are crossing over to India in large numbers. At the same time, the people from northeast settled in various parts of the country for employment have to flee to their home states," the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told a BJP rally in Indore.

"This grim situation is the fallout of Congress's vote bank politics which is weakening the country. The illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are responsible for creating tension in the country by fighting with the locals," the senior BJP leader alleged.

As per the 2001 Census, the number of illegal settlers from Bangladesh is 71 per cent of the total population in Dhubri district of Assam alone, he said, adding that the number could go up once the 2011 data is out Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan alleged that the Congress-led UPA government was "ruining" the country with its policies.

"The Congress-led UPA government is ruining the country. It is taking the nation downward and an atmosphere of despair is prevailing in the country. So it would be better that this government falls at the earliest," Chouhan told the rally.

He criticised the Centre for "jacking up" fertiliser prices and sought their immediate reversal.